"Signs" v. "War of the Worlds" (and maybe a little "Sixth Sense")

The movie had a lot of similarities to H. G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds”. For instance, both ended upon the people’s realization of the single weapon they possessed to fight off the alien attackers; in “War of the Worlds”, certain elements comprising the very air of our world strangled the unfamiliar aliens as they drew breath, and in “Signs”, water, one of the most important and abundant resources on our planet, was massively caustic on alien skin. Sure, both movies had their share of social, scientific, or religious commentary, but there was one thing I noticed in “Signs” that I think I now understand.

It depicted a young girl, Mel Gibson’s daughter. She was otherwise a typical daughter, but there was one thing she did throughout the entire film, hinting quietly at the solution to the alien presence. She could detect, through some “sixth sense”, something in the water that was so caustic on alien skin that the people could use it as an extremely effective weapon. Every single time, the water was “contaminated”, she would say, because it had a tiny speck of dust from the house in it, or (and this is pure speculation) an even more basic chemical or atomic consequence of the reaction between our planet’s air and our planet’s water. And she would not take another sip of it.

What I’m trying to say is, that young child either possessed a gift categorically akin to that of Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense”, or, and this is what I’m personally inclined to believe, she was an alien. Mel Gibson’s daughter in “Signs” was an alien. And M. Night Shyamalan must have based much of the “Signs” story structure on inspiration from H. G. Wells.

I agree on the Signs/War of the worlds comparison, but Signs' ending was just plain stupid. In War of the Worlds, the aliens are killed by pathogenic bacteria, which they couldn't detect before the invasion, and the ending is very philosophical. In Signs, it's just another of Shammy's poorly played twist endings...water covers 71% of Earth's surface and there's no way some aliens smart enough to space travel would invade such a planet, not before doing some research.